The extended version of my post over in the RuneID Branch thread. Running angband-4.0.3-255-g58563a8 the version Nick just posted up tonight through I've been porting this character between updated versions all week as Nick stomps bugs.

Well I just ran into my first Greater Vault while playing the RuneID Branch. a Mazer vault at DL45. I found the new ID scheme made all the loot I found much easier to sort as I made my way slowly through it. As a CL32 Ranger I would barely have regular ID spell, not enough mana to spam it, and probably would have been worried over what to use my limited staves on if this was "vanilla ID" still.

I also found I'm intrigued by what would otherwise be junk but has a rune or two i don't know. I was eager when i found a small stack of ?ID in one space. Even after dropping off the things that stack finished off I'm carrying around a couple things i don't have fully IDed...

It took 20+ trips in with DDoor out to rest since I only had one TO wand that i had to save for Uniques, though it got much easier mid way through when i got a RoS+10 and Bard's Bow (Ranger LIKES! ) that vastly increased my damage per turn. Then i found a RoS+8 and already had Elvenkind boots +7 speed. Machine Gun time!

I was even able to kill off the 20DL OOD Cat Lord using the stack of Slay Animal Arrows i found in the vault. The poor kitty was in a one cell room to dig out according to ESP so i cleared out the rest of the vault then let him loose. After a DDoor enhanced game of cat and mouse i killed him with the VERY LAST Slay Animal arrow i had left. It was a nice finish to the vault.

I'm tempted to go Balrog hunting with the Slay Demon arrows I also found... I TOed him first thing since he was right by the door to the vault. I better just quit for the night since its pushing midnight and I'll have better impulse control in the morning.

Man getting Bard's Bow has changed the game for me. I'm pin-cushioning uniques right and left. I'm back to reading ?Deep Decent again!

I also just realized how MUCH of my gear i got in that one Greater Vault and the monsters from it. Both my Rings of Speed, Both my ESP weapon and my swap Thunderfist (not that I've needed it much since i got Bard), Bard itself, my shield of Celegormm, my Wand of TO, my Rod of TO, and my Rod of Probing. Oh and a bunch of nice arrows.

Then there is the stuff from that level i have at home. The Star of Elendil, Anguirel which i should probably toss, I didnt mark when i got Tensors (didn't have the SP to use it at the time) but i think that was one of the last drops on the floor.

Yep. The right kind of GV is a gamechanger. That happened in my most recent win too. It's a lot of fun!

I have a love-hate relationship with GVs. I often think they are too big and get fatigued going through them. I also find them somewhat limiting with regard to dungeon design, since levels need to be big enough to house a GV. Yet, posts like these indicate that they are a huge positive for players.

hmmm You could think of a Greater Vault as basically a handful of levels compressed into one area. All the rewards of great loot but also all the dangers.

Does it really feel that long when compared to clearing out like 5 levels in one run? I guess the difference is when clearing a GV you have no chance to go back to town to restock/drop off loot in mid run after finishing level 2 or 3 of that pack of 5.

a few more unique monsters down and a few levels deeper. I've updated the dump in the ladder.

I'm starting to find reliable amounts of the better base arrows that Tensor's lets me enchant into branded ammo that stacks. That helps with both the killing and the inventory. Good thing i don't care about turn count though!

That last level had 2 medium sized vaults with some interesting loot. I swapped a bit around but stashed some at home in case things change. I had to do a bit of house cleaning. How quickly something that is GREAT! turns into junk, TOSS!